Huang Hao (fl. 220s–263) was a Chineseeunuch and politician serving underLiu Shan (r. 223–263), the second and last emperor of the state ofShu Han in theThree Kingdoms period (220–280) of China. He gained the favour of Liu Shan and became highly influential.  He was able to promote his supporters and demote those who opposed him to the overall detriment of the good governance of the state.  When the leading Shu Han generalJiang Wei sought to warn the emperor that an invasion byCao Wei was imminent, Huang Hao advised the emperor that such an invasion would not happen.  As a result, the Shu Han state was not prepared for theWei invasion of Shu forcing the emperor to surrender unconditionally in 263.

Huang Hao entered the Shu imperial palace sometime in the 220s as aeunuch attending to the Shu emperorLiu Shan, who favoured him because he was shrewd and full of flattering words. Whenever Huang Hao attempted to interfere in state affairs,Dong Yun, then the head of government, warned Liu Shan about the dangers of flattery and admonished Huang Hao for misleading the emperor. While Dong Yun was alive, he kept Huang Hao in check and never allowed him to be promoted beyond the position of an assistant of the Yellow Gate (黃門丞).

Following Dong Yun's death inc.December 246,Chen Zhi replaced him as the head of government and collaborated with Huang Hao to dominate the imperial court and state affairs. Liu Shan criticised the late Dong Yun for treating him with contempt; he was believed to have said this with the encouragement of Huang Hao and Chen Zhi. When Chen Zhi died in 258, Huang Hao became the most influential figure in the Shu central government based inChengdu. Liu Shan promoted Huang Hao to the positions of Central Regular Attendant (中常侍) and Commandant of Equipage (奉車都尉).

Huang Hao abused his power by promoting officials who were his supporters and demoting those who stood up to him. WhenLuo Xian refused to work with him, Huang Hao had Luo Xian sent away from Chengdu to serve as the Administrator (太守) of Badong Commandery (巴東郡; around present-dayFengjie County,Chongqing). Yan Yu (閻宇), a close friend of Huang Hao who served as Area Commander of Badong (巴東都督) rereassigned Luo Xian as his deputy since he thought highly of him.Fan Jian, the Prefect of the Masters of Writing (尚書令), refused to have any dealings with Huang Hao. Huang Hao dislikedXi Zheng, an inner office official who was familiar with Huang Hao's dealings for about 30 years. Although he did not harm Xi Zheng, he never allowed Xi Zheng to get promoted.Liu Yong, a younger brother of Liu Shan, hated Huang Hao and was never on good terms with him. After Huang Hao came to power, he slandered and spoke ill of Liu Yong in front of Liu Shan, resulting in Liu Shan refusing to meet Liu Yong for more than 10 years.^[1]

In 262, the Shu generalJiang Wei wrote to Liu Shan to urge him to execute Huang Hao. However, Liu Shan refused, said that Huang Hao was merely a servant running errands for him, and told Jiang Wei not to be so upset with Huang Hao. Jiang Wei knew that Huang Hao had many supporters in the imperial court and was concerned that he might have fallen out of favour with the emperor when he asked Liu Shan to execute Huang Hao. Later, Liu Shan ordered Huang Hao to apologise to Jiang Wei. Jiang Wei found an excuse to leave Chengdu and move to a military garrison at Tazhong (沓中; northwest of present-dayZhugqu County,Gansu). In the meantime, Huang Hao tried to remove Jiang Wei from his command and replace him with Yan Yu (閻宇), Huang Hao's close friend. When Jiang Wei heard about it, he remained in Tazhong and refused to return to Chengdu as he knew that he would be safe in Tazhong.

In 263, Jiang Wei received news thatZhong Hui, a general from Shu's rival stateWei, was mobilising troops into theGuanzhong region, seemingly in preparation foran invasion of Shu. He then wrote to Liu Shan, requesting permission to set up defences against the impending invasion. Huang Hao, who believed in sorcery, got a witch doctor to predict the future. He then told Liu Shan that the witch doctor predicted that the Wei forces would not attack Shu, so there was no need to follow Jiang Wei's plan. Later that year, the Wei generalDeng Ai led his troops through a shortcut across mountainous terrain, bypassing the Shu defences, and arrived outside Chengdu. Liu Shan surrendered without putting up a fight, thus bringing an end to the Shu regime's existence. After Liu Shan's surrender, Deng Ai heard that Huang Hao was a treacherous person and wanted to execute him, but Huang Hao had already bribed Deng Ai's men to release him and he escaped. His eventual fate is unknown.

In Chapter 119 of the 14th-century historical novelRomance of the Three Kingdoms, Huang Hao is publicly executed at the order of the Wei regentSima Zhao when he followed Liu Shan to the Wei capitalLuoyang.

• Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms

• Chen, Shou (3rd century).Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi).
• Luo, Guanzhong (14th century).Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguo Yanyi).
• Pei, Songzhi (5th century).Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi zhu).

• Chinese eunuchs
• Shu Han government officials

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Year of birth unknown
• Year of death unknown